An array of scattered thoughts run through the mind of Gregor Samsa when it is to his surprise that he has awoken in the form of a “monstrous cockroach.” He can not help but to think of the thoughts of his family and those at work in response to the sight of his new form. There is however a striking difference in the responses that he receives from his father and the chief clerk with respect to his metamorphosis. At the sight of Gregor, the chief clerk, “turned his back on [him]…and only stared back at him with mouth agape, over his trembling shoulder (218). An exchange in words between the two is totally absent because of the chief clerk’s decision to flee. His reaction to Gregor could be viewed with the idea that when a man shows weakness in any facet of life, physically or emotionally, he is deemed useless and unable to contribute. Gregor’s father, however, has a different reaction to his son. As opposed to the chief clerk, Gregor’s father “seized in his right hand the chief clerks cane…with his left grabbed a large newspaper from the table, and, by stamping his feet…attempted to drive Gregor back into his room” (219). His father’s reaction could be described as disappointment, followed by an aggressive anger. Gregor says that the chief clerk needed to be stopped, calmed, convinced, and finally won over as the future of his family depended on it (218). It is here that we see the importance of Gregor’s role in relation to the family and why the actions of his father could be justified. While the chief clerk was much more passive in his reaction, Gregor’s father, in contrast, was much more aggressive in displaying his disappointment.
A8
November 5, 2015 Written by Brandon Andujar | 3 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
3 responses so far ↓
j.kohan // Nov 6th 2015 at 12:23 am
I have to say that I honestly agree with almost all your points, however, there is one point that I slightly disagree with. You mention that Gregor’s father’s reaction could be described as disappointment. I have to disagree with your choice of adjective only because it simply does not seem strong enough. The quote you chose clearly depicts aggression, as you mention, with Gregor’s father grabbing the chief clerk’s cane and “driving” Gregor back into his room. These actions seem too hostile to simply say that Gregor’s father is just disappointed. In my opinion, a possibly better adjective to go along with his aggressive demeanor could possibly be irate or furious. Attributing adjectives to a character is always something that can vary from reader to reader, but this is what I thought. Aside from that rather small detail, your descriptive choices for the chief clerk, as well as much of the other points you mentioned for Gregor’s father, are certainly valid. Good work.
k.vataj // Nov 6th 2015 at 11:25 pm
You do make good points and have analyzed the quotes really well. I do think the chief clerk was disappointed in Gregor, however I also think he reacted out of fear that’s why he left the room so awkwardly. I do agree that Gregor’s father was very furious so that’s why he reacted in an aggressive matter, although I won’t justify his behavior. As a father figure he should’ve reacted in a different manner, a reaction of fear would have made more sense to me. I’m thinking the father might have been angry for different reasons, more for how he is going to handle his financial situation. Rather than his concern for his sons well being. Overall this is really well written, great job!
JMERLE // Nov 7th 2015 at 4:36 pm
Brandon,
You do a nice job pointing to a central difference in the reactions of the two characters, and you use good quotations. What I find particularly provocative in your response, is your extrapolating the clerk’s reaction into something more representative of the employer/employee relationship, the idea that showing fear could, on a symbolic level at least, be a kind of statement of dismissal, that if the individual can no longer be a productive member of society, then he/she is automatically useless. This is a theme that carries over to your response about the father, as well, only, of course, he is angry/frustrated that his son can no longer work for the family.
Nice!
10/10